Bike handle tightening device after separated from a bike frame

ABSTRACT

A bike handle tightening device after separated from a bike frame includes a fix tube fixed on a bike frame and having a hollow interior, a vertical rod of a handle, a threaded rod inserting in the vertical rod from top and having a lower end protruding out of the vertical rod, and a tightening member screwing with the threaded rod and having a sloped end surface- The vertical rod and the tightening member are inserted in the fix tube, and the threaded rod is rotated to force the tightening member to move nearer to and contact and rotate along a sloped bottom end surface of the vertical rod so as to let the axis of the vertical rod and the tightening member move away from each other so that the vertical rod and the tightening member push against opposite portions of an inner wall of the fix tube to tighten the handle therein, reducing the size of the bike collapsed for convenience of transporting and storing and helping stabilize the bike after collapsed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIION

[0001] This invention relates to a bike handle tightening device afterseparated from a bike frame, particularly to one tightening theseparated handle to the bike frame to reduce packaging material forstoring and transporting, and in addition to help position a bike stablyafter collapsed.

[0002] Bike makers generally try to reduce transporting cost to increasethe number of bikes to be transported in a container by means ofpackaging the bike frames not assembled with handles combined with brakelines and speed changing lines so as to lessen the size of packageboxes. Then consumers assemble the handle with the brake lines and thespeed changing lines with the bike frame. This kind of packaging bikesis more popular for collapsible bikes, which are collapsed by bending afront frame on a rear frame or vice versa to reduce the size of bikes tobe packaged for transporting so that makers may lessen the cost forpackage material and consumers may easily carry or store a bike.However, a handle is hardly separated from a bike frame once it iscombined with the frame, so there arises a problem that the handle withthe vertical tube of a front fork tube may take not a small space. Thenthe handle is designed to be bendable to solve this problem. But thisstructure has been found to have the following disadvantages

[0003] 1. As for transporting, although the handle may be positionedflat on one side of the bike frame, the handle may collide with theframe to result in dropping of paints or disfiguring to cause adisqualified bike.

[0004] 2. As for assembling, the frame and the handle are separated fromeach other, but are connected with some brake lines and speed changinglines, so consumers may forget to take out the frame together with thehandle, and the handle may be fall down on the ground or pull along thelines to become loose or disfigured.

[0005] 3. As for collapsible bikes, the handle needs to add a bendablejoint or a component for positioning in order to make the handlebendable to reduce the package size,

[0006] 4. As for the collapsed condition, there is no stabilizing meansfor the collapsed front frame and the collapsed rear frame in a packagebox, so the front frame and the rear frame may expand easily with thepivot joint as a fulcrum, especially in case of a user carrying them toa great embarrassment to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This invention is to offer a bike handle tightening device afterseparated from a bike frame, in order to reduce its size for package,transporting and storing and to help stabilizing a bike after collapsed.

[0008] The feature of the invention i s the bike handle tighteningdevice having a sidewise hollow fix tube, a vertical rod of a handlebeing hollow and sloped in its bottom end, a threaded rod inserting inthe vertical rod from its top with its bottom exposing out of thevertical rod, and a tightening member having a sloped upper surface tocontact a sloped bottom end surface of the vertical rod and screwed withthe threaded rod. Then the vertical rod and the tightening member areinserted in the fix tube, and the threaded rod is rotated to move thetightening member and the vertical rod, forcing the axis of thetightening member and that of the vertical rod become not aligned to letthe outer surfaces of the tightening member and the vertical rod tightlypush the inner wall of the fix tube so as to let the handle tightened onthe bike frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] This invention will be better understood by referring to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

[0010]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a handle separated froma bike frame in the present invention:

[0011]FIG. 2 is a partial magnified view of FIG. 1:

[0012]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of operating a handle tighteningdevice in the present invention:

[0013]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of operating a handle tighteningdevice in the present invention, showing different degree of tighteningthe handle:

[0014]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the handle tightening devicetightening the handle on the bike frame in the present invention:

[0015]FIG. 6 is a side view of the handle tightened with the front forkof the bike frame in the present invention: and,

[0016]FIG. 7 is a partial magnified cross-sectional view of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0017] A bike handle tightening device after separated from a bike framein the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a vertical rod 41of a handle 4 combined with a front fork tube of a front frame 1 of abike, and a fix tube 21 fixed at a proper position of a rear frame 2 ofa bike as main components combined together.

[0018] The vertical rod 41 of the handle 4 is hollow, having a slopedbottom end surface, and a threaded rod 42 inserted in the vertical rodfrom top, as shown in FIG. 2. The threaded rod 42 has an upper endpivotally connected to a L-shaped operating rod 421, and a bottom endprotruding out of the bottom of the vertical rod 41, and a column-shapedtightening member 43 has an upper sloped surface to contact the slopedbottom end surface of the vertical rod 41, a center threaded hole toscrew with the threaded rod 42, and plural lengthwise straight ribs 431formed on a longer side wall for increasing friction, as shown in FIG.3.

[0019] The fix tube 21 is fixed on a proper position of a rear frame ofa bike, having an inner diameter a bit larger than the diameter of thevertical rod 41, and a protective cover 211 inserted to close the outerend of the fix tube 21, as shown in FIG. 4, but not absolutelynecessary.

[0020] In assembling, the bike handle tightening device may have twokinds of assembled conditions, one for collapsing and the other forriding. First, if it is assembled for collapsing, referring to FIGS. 3,4 and 5, loosen a collapsing joint 3 connecting the front frame 1 andthe rear frame 2 to pivotally bend the front frame 1 and the rear frame2 to each other, and then the vertical rod 41 together with thetightening member 43 is inserted in the fix tube 21 of the rear frame 2,as shown in FIG. 3. Then rotate the operating rod 421 and subsequentlythe threaded rod 42 together, forcing the tightening member 43 movealong the threaded rod 42 straightly to the vertical rod 41, with theupper surface of the tightening member 43 rotating along the bottom endsurface of the vertical rod 41 so that the tightening member may biasout of the same axis as that of the vertical rod 41, with the lengthwisestraight ribs 431 of the tightening member 43 tightly pushing the innerwall of the fix tube 21 while the outer wall of the vertical rod 41contrary to the straight ribs 431 pushes against the inner wall of thefix tube 21 to stabilize the handle 4 in the fix tube 21. Then theprotective cover 211 closes the outer side of the fix tube 21,preventing dirt and miscellaneous things from entering the fix tube 21.Thus the handle 4 is tightened with the collapsed bike frame as shown inFIG. 5. In addition, the upper end of the front fork tube 11 is open incase of the handle 4 is tightened in the fix tube 21, so an upper cap111 may be provided to close up the upper end of the front fork 11, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 5.

[0021] As can be seen from FIG. 5, the vertical rod 41 is stabilizedwith the rear frame 2 in case of the handle 4 tightened in the fix tube21, and the vertical rod 41 also pushes against the front frame 1 ,keeping the front frame 1 and the rear frame 2 in a stable position andpreventing them from expanding, convenient to carry, making up anotherkind of function for a collapsible bike.

[0022] Next, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, if a user wants to ride the bikecollapsed, first separate the handle 4 from the fix tube 21, evolve thefront frame 1 and the rear frame 2 with the collapsing joint 3 as afulcrum and stabilize the joint 3, insert the vertical rod 41 of thehandle 4 in the front fork tube 11, with the upper cap 111 removed. Thenrotate the operating rod 421 together with the threaded rod 42, forcingthe vertical rod 41 and the tightening member 43 push against the innerwall of the front fork tube 11 tightly, as shown in FIG. 7. Lastly theoperating rod 421 is pressed down to contact the front fork tube 11, asshown in FIG. 6, forming the bike in a position to ride. Provided thebike is wanted to be collapsed after riding, fold the front frame 1 andthe rear frame 2 to each other according to the process described above,and separate the handle 4 from the front fork tube 11 and rotate andinsert the handle 4 in the fix tube 21 in the collapsed position shownin FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0023] The bike handle tightening device has several advantages, asunderstood from the aforesaid description.

[0024] 1. In packaging and transporting, the handle 4 is tightened onthe rear frame, not assembled with the front fork tube 11, effectivelyreducing the size of the package box, and no possibility of the paint ofthe bike frame falling off caused by colliding with the handle intransporting.

[0025] 2. When a consumer buys a bike packaged and opens the package boxto take out the bike, there is no fear of the handle 4 and the brakelines or the speed changing lines falling off on the ground in takingout the bike frame.

[0026] 3. The handle is directly taken off to reduce the size of thepackage, getting rid of a joint added for bending the handle in aconventional collapsible bike, lessening the cost for package andtransporting and simplifying the whole structure.

[0027] 4. The handle 4 also stabilizes stable the front frame 1 when thehandle 4 is tightened on the rear frame 2, as shown in FIG. 5, so thefront frame 1 and the rear frame 2 cannot extend with the collapsingjoint 3 in transporting or carrying,

[0028] 5. The lengthwise straight ribs 431 on the outer wall of thelonger side of the tightening member 43 can largely heighten thefriction between the front fork tube 11 and the fix tube 21, ensuringtightening function of the handle 4, which is then impossible to falloff during transporting.

I claim
 1. A bike handle tightening device after separated from a bikeframe comprising a fix tube fixed sidewise on a proper position of abike frame and having a hollow interior, and a handle inserting in afront fork tube of a bike and having a vertical tube with a hollowinterior and a sloped bottom end surface, a threaded rod inserting insaid vertical rod from an upper end, said threaded rod having its bottomend protruding out of said vertical rod of said handle, a tighteningmember of a column shape having a sloped upper end surface able to restagainst said sloped lower end surface of said vertical rod, saidvertical rod together with said tightening member separated from saidfront fork tube and inserted in said fix tube of said bike frame, thensaid threaded rod rotated to rotate also said tightening member to movenearer to said vertical rod to let said upper sloped end surface contactsaid lower end surface of said vertical rod, said tightening memberfurther rotated to have its axis gradually move away from that of saidvertical rod so that said tightening member and said vertical rod mayrespectively push against opposite portions of an inner wall of said fixtube tightly to stabilize said handle tightly on said bike frame, a sizeof said bike with said handle tightened on said bike frame reduced forconvenience of transporting and storing, said handle tightening devicesimple to operate and helping stabilize said bike after collapsed. 2.The bike handle tightening device after separated from a bike frame asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said threaded rod has its upper endpivotally connected with an operating rod to rotate said threaded rod.3. The bike tightening device after separated from a bike frame asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said tightening member has plural lengthwisestraight ribs formed on a longer side wall for increasing frictionagainst said inner wall of said fix tube.
 4. The bike tightening deviceafter separated from a bike frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidfix tube has a protective cover closing on an outer end to prevent dirtand miscellaneous things from entering said fix tube.